There were many bands in the 1990s who, having began as doom-infused death metal, later transitioned to melodic goth metal of one variety or the other. Katatonia, Amorphis and My Dying Bride are the often the most cited examples. It’s not as if they all left death metal behind completely, as all still retain an edge which bears the trace of their brutal origins (My Dying Bride still has growling vocals here and there). Still, it’s interesting to dive into this work and see where the transition began to take shape.
Paradise Lost is another one of these bands, and 1992’s Shades of God retains much of what they began with on Lost Paradise, but shows where they were headed. The band’s dark romanticism has an appeal similar to that of the bands above, but with vocalist Nick Holmes performing on last year’s fantastic Bloodbath album, Paradise Lost is worth revisiting for death metal fans as well.
With that in mind, The End Records has re-issued Shades of God on vinyl, rendered on two clear LPs. And is it just me, or doesn’t that artwork remind you of Where the Wild Things Are?
Anyway, check it out over at The Omega Order.
